Corrected: UPDATE 1-UK's Hays sells six European units, considers further exits as hiring downturn persists

Hays

Today 09:56

Corrects paragraph 2 to clarify stock gained as much as 7.3%, not that they were up by that much at the given time
June 17 (Reuters) - British recruiter Hays HAYS.L said on Wednesday that it has sold its businesses in six European countries and is considering more exits, as a prolonged hiring slowdown in the region pushes the group to sharpen its focus on core operations.
Shares rose as much as 7.3% to 38.4 pence by 0921 GMT.

Here are some details:
The recruitment sector has been under pressure, particularly in Europe, where weak economic growth has dented hiring, while the U.S. and parts of Asia have proved more resilient despite employer caution linked to geopolitical tensions, including those related to the Iran war.
Europe remains a key region for Hays, with Germany its largest contributor and Britain also accounting for a significant share of group net fees.
The portfolio review comes under Hays' new CEO Mark Dearnley and follows the company's exit from four other countries over the past year.
Hays has completed the sale of its Czech Republic, Denmark, Hungary, Luxembourg, Romania, and Sweden businesses to private equity firm Meraki Capital for £4 million ($5.4 million).
It is exploring options for Belgium, Brazil, Greater China, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Singapore, and the UAE. 
All 13 countries combined are expected to deliver a broadly break-even pre-exceptional operating profit of roughly £85 million in net fees in the year ending June 30, 2026. 
Hays said it now plans to focus on its remaining 16 core countries.
The move "should allow Hays to focus on building density/leadership in remaining markets, particularly to drive faster matching of clients and candidates, which in turn should drive more favourable microeconomic marketplace outcomes," analysts at RBC Capital Markets said.  
($1 = 0.7451 pounds)

 (Reporting by Nithyashree R B in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
 ((NithyashreeRB@thomsonreuters.com))